


Consequences of Obliviousness

by slowmobanana



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Comedy, Superpower!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-04 12:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4137063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowmobanana/pseuds/slowmobanana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the writer that brought you That Which We Are...<br/>It had been three weeks since the gasses flooded the streets like a river of poison. The small town had been abandoned completely, and only he remained now in the dusty corpse of his home. When the gasses came, everyone left town. Except for Michael. It hadn’t been his intention. He would have fucked off, too, if he had been aware of the situation.<br/>---<br/>Michael Jones, now practically a superhero with his newfound and overwhelming strength, has been wandering the abandoned city of Foxton for the last three weeks. Then, one day, the US Government begins to kick down the doors of every house left in the city, searching for any one left stranded in the gas.<br/>Running for his life with several strangers, they are left with no lead other than to know they must somehow survive. Until they meet someone like them, a mysterious man, that could hold the key to their freedom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I disappeared for a long time. I was going to write a sequal to That Which We Are or finish The Journey of Pimps or Six Shots of Whiskey but I lacked motivation for any of them. So, I tried for something new for now. Anyways, the start is pretty slow and it kinda sucks, but I hope for this to be as entertaining as my other stories. Also, I'm trying for a new type of writing style. Anyways, here we go.

 It had been three weeks since the gasses flooded the streets like a river of poison. The small town had been abandoned completely, and only he remained now in the dusty corpse of his home. When the gasses came, everyone left town. Except for Michael. It hadn’t been his intention. He would have fucked off, too, if he had been aware of the situation.

 But it was all done and over with, and he would have to live with the consequences of obliviousness. (Or, assholes not telling him what the fuck was going on.) Now he could punch mailboxes down the block or throw cars over his head. So, it wasn’t like he was left with too many consequences, but he wasn’t sure what in the hell he should do now that he was a more human edition of the Hulk.

 So, since there was no more gas on the streets, Michael took to breaking into different stores and stealing things since no one seemed to plan on coming back. And with his newfound super strength, getting into places was a breeze.

 Of course, he could come to the conclusion that the gasses were linked to the sudden super strength of his body. Maybe more people would’ve stayed behind if they knew the gas brought superpowers. Who knew?

 As of currently, Michael was attempting to break into the college campus, which really wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was break the gates open and step inside. Easy peasy.

 There was still electricity surging through the city, which meant no one had bothered to turn the power off nor did the electric company try to save power by turning it off. Chances were no one had the guts to come back and check up on the city. As of now, Michael was the only one who knew what would happen if one inhaled the gas.

**If One Inhaled the Gas**

_You pass out._

_You wake up._

_You have super powers._

_Seems legit._

_Also, it feels like you have a hangover._

 At least, that was how his mind made sense of it. But it had been three weeks now and no one had come back. Michael hadn’t tried yet to leave because he saw no point to it. Where would he go? What would he do? He obviously would never find his employer so he was out of work. He could always go back to New Jersey and get a different job…

 Yet here he stayed, breaking into places and taking food for free, and since electricity was still working, he would take video games and furniture and various luxuries back to his house to have for himself since no one would miss it anyway.

 So, for three weeks, he lived alone and like a King, which he rather enjoyed, until he started getting lonely and realized how much he kind of missed people. Of course, he would have to live like a normal person if he went, having to buy his food before eating it and what not. Not that he minded, but the free stuff was nice.

 Except for one problem, which Michael discovered once in a bout of anger: he had superpowers. And as fun as it would be to be some late-night crime fighter like Batman, Michael doubted how well he could pull off that life before he got discovered or worse. As he found out, he might have had super strength but he wasn’t invincible. He still hurt and bled like a normal person.

 He’d be shot before the day was up.

 He tore the lock in half with his bare hands then pushed open the gates to the campus. He wondered in aimlessly for a moment before kicking down the front door. The door, accidentally, went flying into the hall and crashed into the wall at the back, resting propped up against it.

 “Oops,” Michael chuckled then continued on inside.

 All the lights were still on since everyone was in a rush to leave the college. The air conditioning was still on and damn, it was cold! Had it been running all this time? It was a wonder it didn’t break.

 Quietly, he pressed on in search of… nothing. He was honestly just here because he was bored and didn’t know what else to do. He had exhausted every place to be curious about in this city save for the college and the power plant. The power plant was scary so to the college he went. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but hopefully something to keep him entertained for a little while.

 He pushed open every door to every classroom, peering in and stealing a look around before continuing onto the next. He dared curiousity if he should read the textbooks in the class room, and thus he could leave a much more educated man, but decided against it because without a certificate to prove he'd read them, it would just be useless in the end.

 Michael reached the end of the hall and he stopped, already tired of his exposition. There was nothing fun or entertaining to do in these rooms. Maybe he would be better off going home and trying to beat Banjo and Kazooie (again, for the third time).

 He turned on his heel and began towards the front door of the college then stopped. He peered around, wondering if he had heard something aside from his footsteps. He swore he heard a thud or a voice or something; the ghost of someone, a presence somewhere in these rooms.

 He stood still for a while.

 Then, he heard, “Blah, blah, blah. Black holes. Mysterious shit. Einstein being smart. What else is new these days?” followed by the thud of a closing textbook and it being dropped on a desk in the science room.

 Michael had to snicker because that was a weird thing to say about Einstein's theories, especially by such an older voice than his. He peered into the nearest science room and was met with no one. He moved to the second and there he saw the source of the mysterious voice; a blond man picking up text books and reading them over, mumbling theories and essays to himself before tossing the book aside and moving on.

 “Knock, knock,” sang Michael, resting a hand on the wall.

 The man jumped suddenly, startled, whipping around. In the process, the book flew from his hands and the man juggled it a bit before failing and it dropped on his foot. “Ow! Fuck you, book!” and Michael raised an amused eyebrow. Finally, the man turned his attention to the stranger in the classroom with him. “I don't mean to be rude, but... Who are you?”

 The question made sense, considering no other soul had wandered these streets since the 27th of May. “Michael,” he replied nonchalantly. “Who are you?”

 “Ryan,” came the equally nonchalant answer.

 “Okay. Cool.”

 They stared at each other awkwardly for a while before Ryan returned back to what he was doing. Michael considered leaving but this was his first human interaction in three weeks. Though, he remained curious as to whether or not Ryan had been around for the gasses that flooded the streets. If that was the case, then did he have superpowers, too? Was that why he was looking through the books?

 If he wanted answers without giving away his own abnormalities, then he would have to ask questions cleverly. Quite clearly, Ryan didn't have super strength or the book would have gone through the roof when he had jumped. And he didn't have super speed or he would have caught it. No telekinesis, no nothing.

 “How long have you been here?” Michael asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leisurely approached the stranger. “In this town, I mean?” He leaned to the right, trying to peek at the book Ryan had in his hands now, then retreated when the older male turned.

 “You mean before the entire town was covered in a blanket of knock-out gas, or...?”

 Michael shrugged, his question already answered. “So, you were around when it happened, then?”

 Ryan nodded. “Yep.”

 Carefully, Michael considered his next question. “So, have you felt weird at all since the whole thing, or...?”

 The blond looked up from his book, then turned to meet eyes with Michael. “Why?”

 “Oh, uh,” he hesitated. “No reason.”

 “No, there is a reason.”

 “What? No.” He tried to sound as casual as possible but was failing, miserably. Though, he had a feeling with Ryan's suspicion, that there was definitely some superpowers in this one. Even though he had his answer, curiousity said that it wanted to know what his power was, specifically.

 Ryan was still staring at him by this point, and he was certain the other knew what he was getting at. Michael looked down and started kicking at a scruff mark on the floor before looking up to speak again. Except Ryan's nose was already in another text book. Michael rolled his eyes and decided to take a seat at one of the desks.

 “Don't you have something better to do than watch me read?” Ryan asked, throwing another book on the desk. It was then Michael noticed the massive pile of papered rejects on and around the desk.

 “Not really,” he admitted, which was kind of sad now that he thought about it. “You're probably the first person I've met since the whole thing.”

 “Are we just going to call it that now? The Thing?”

 “Sure. I'm mean, I'm practically the guy now, anyway.”

 “Huh?”

 Michael turned around, resting his elbow on the desk. “What's with all the books?”

 “Why are you asking so many questions?”

 “Have you seen anyone else around?”

 “What part of, 'why so many questions' do you not understand?”

 “Have you left the city yet?”

 “Why don't you answer one of my questions first!?”

 “Do you have super powers?”

 Well, it wasn't as tactful as Michael had been hoping but he just... he couldn't just trust the first person he met after three weeks. Who knew how the world had changed? For all he knew, they could be the last people on Earth. But the question was out now, and he was awaiting the answer.

 Ryan stood quietly for a minute, then shut the book and threw it atop the other rejects. “Do you?”

 Michael sighed and they ended up staring at each other again. Clearly, this game of Questions Only was not going to get them anywhere, so he finally gave up and decided to give some answers. “Yeah. I do.”

 Ryan seemed satisfied with the answer. He took the seat next to Michael and mirrored his position. “So do I, I guess. Could they really be classified as superpowers?”

 “Mine can. Definitely.”

 “What can you do?”

 Michael smirked, a cocky expression across his face like he had the best power in the world. “Super strength.”

 “Prove it.”

 He looked around for the heaviest object, then settle for lifting the desk they were sitting at and tossed it towards the blackboard. The desk broke into five different pieces and they all clattered to the ground uselessly. When he looked back to Ryan, his mouth was agape. “Alright. Your turn.”

 Ryan snapped out of it, then looked up to Michael and nodded. “Let's see...”

 “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

 “Uh,” the blond looked around for a minute, then shook his head. “No.” He looked up towards the lightbulb above them and held out his hand. Michael watched, confused, wondering if he was trying for telekinesis or electrical currents but what emerged was far from either. From his hand came out tiny, black and purple... things. Like tiny shadow balls.

 “Fucking Subspace!?”

 The shadow balls collectively created one medium sized thing and it consumed the lightbulb. Then all at once, the shadow retracted and the lightbulb was off. Like smoke, it disappeared and Ryan appeared pleased with himself.

 “You have Subspace powers!?”

 “Is that what that's called?” Ryan asked casually, as though what had just transpired was not at all unnatural. “I think I saw that in one of the books...”

 “Like, the Subspace Emissary...”

 “Now _that_ wasn't in any of the books?”

 “Haven't you ever played Super Smash Bros?”

 “Huh?”

 “You know? Nintendo?”

 “No...”

 Michael stared at the man in disbelief. It seemed his entire world just got a whole lot more interesting...

 


	2. Alone Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not feeling too great about this story, mainly because I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but here's to trying anyway.  
>  On with the story!

 For the next few hours, Michael and Ryan – the two, grown-up men they were – played with their powers like children with new toys. Michael would pick up and throw around the largest objects he could find. He did struggle with much heavier objects, like rigs and cranes, mostly because they were awkward and partly because there was a limit to his strength.

 Ryan told him that he could steal light from anything, which was an odd ability. Though, as he came to discover, he could steal more than light. He could absorb electricity in general and give the electrical current to something else. So, a form of Electrical Control but he couldn't create electricity. Ryan had been looking into the phenomenon as something to explain it all, hence why he was going through the text books.

 He read into it, but Ryan was certain his power could not open gates to parallel directions.

 “But maybe electricity can?” Michael suggested, and they debated that for almost an hour.

 Finally, they got bored of theories and decided to instead play with their powers. On several occasions, Ryan broke several electrical objects by either taking too much power or giving it more than it could handle. Several fires broke out and they scrambled to put them out.

 Once, Michael just picked up the flaming monitor and whipped it across the city so they wouldn't have to deal with it.

 By nightfall, they were bundled up in coats they “found” at one of the expensive clothing outlets and Michael decided that a black touque would look good with the leather jacket so he took that, too. The night was chilly but they were fine by it. They spoke without chattering their teeth and that was all that mattered.

 “I don't really know what to do,” Michael admitted once they got to the topic of what they had been doing the last three weeks. “I wasn't sure if I should leave or stay.”

 “Should I stay or should I go?” Ryan sang unhelpfully.

 “I mean,” Michael continued, ignoring the other. “I have all this strength now. What, am I supposed to live like a normal person now? Can I hide the fact I can lift cars and break down walls, like in _The Incredibles_?” He sighed. “I still break things unintentionally, you know.”

 “I noticed when you kicked a hole in the corner of the brick building back there,” Ryan chuckled and Michael scoffed a laughed. “At least your power's a little helpful. All I can do is jump start cars.”

 “That's useful,” the powerhouse insisted, a casual impressed undertone surfacing in his voice. “Listen, you've gotta admit, we got pretty lucky. We could've been poisoned by the gas instead.”

 Ryan nodded. “Good point.”

 A moment of silence passed between them, broken once by the gentle breeze of the wind. Then, Michael mused, “What was that gas about, anyway?”

 “Can it be defined as a gas?” Ryan asked and Michael rolled his eyes.

 “Listen.” He stopped and Ryan had walked a few steps forward before realizing Michael had quit moving. He looked back and any signs of joking intent vanished from his lips. “It had to come from somewhere. And I doubt that it was a natural occurance.”

 Ryan looked unnerved for a moment, then turned to square his shoulders. “As much as I hate to say it, I'm willing to bet the Government has something behind this.”

 “It's always the Government,” Michael mumbled to himself, starting forward again down the street. 

 Ryan stayed at his pace. “How long do you think it will be before they send the CIA after us?”

 “God, this is some stupid story you're making up.”

 “It's not a story,” the shadowmaker said suddenly. “It's a genuine thought. If the Government really is behind this, how long do you think it will take before they realize whatever they were trying to accomplish made us instead?”

 Michael sighed. He hadn't thought that staying in Foxton would've been dangerous. But he hadn't even considered the CIA or the Government because it seemed like such a far-fetched idea. Yet, now that he thought about it, it seemed like a very plausible outcome. “But, where do we go?”

 “Alabama,” Ryan suggested quickly.

 Before Michael could retaliate, the sound of a faraway voice finally made earshot and both men stopped in their tracks.

 “Bloody _fucking_ hell! No, I am _not_ havin' it.” And then a man appeared almost suddenly from across the street, fuming to himself. “Stupid, bollocking, dumb, _damn_ airport! Stupid rules, stupid Government, stupid America...”

 “Forget about the American Government,” Ryan whispered to the powerhouse. “I think we're being invaded by Britain.” Michael snickered.

 In that moment (mostly likely because he heard Michael snicker), the man turned to look at them, immediately turning from angry to curious. “Wha...” He stopped, thought about what he was looking at, then decided to ignore them and keep on walking.

 “Should we go after him? I mean, another living soul in this Godforsaken town.” Ryan looked to Michael. “He could be another superhero?”

 “We have to do something heroic first to be considered a superhero,” the shorter male replied but started after the stranger anyway. “C'mon. Maybe he's got answers for us.”

 They jogged after the man, following him all the way to Seventh before the man stopped and started into a nice, white house. “Wait!” Ryan yelled but the man did not and thus shut the door behind him. “Dammit. What an asshole.”

 “No kidding.” Michael started up the steps and tested the door, which had been locked. “Wow. He has no fucking idea what he's dealing with.” And then he kicked down the door, which resulted in the wood flying on down the hall in a rather cartoonish manner. “Honey, I'm home!” he called playfully.

 “Fuck a _duck_!” he heard the man yell, which was the most American expression he had heard this guy say thus far. He ran down the stairs in the back and immediately saw the door in pieces, as well as a vase and a painting that had been on the wall. “What the--” He turned his head towards where Michael and Ryan stood in the place where the front door used to be. “Did you do this?!”

 “Yep.”

 “You know it's not polite to _kick someone's door in_! You broke my vase!” Then, dejectedly, he added, “My mother gave me that...”

 “Yeah, sorry about that,” Michael said, thought he didn't sound all that apologetic.

 Ryan stepped forward then, taking a look around the house. “Nice place.” He looked back to the man again, and put his hands on his hips. “Listen, we need to talk...”

 “Yeah, we do!” the man yipped, jumping over the wreckage in an graceful yet awkward manner. “You bloody broke the door! You're gonna have to buy me a new one.”

 “Listen,” the redhead began, talking calmly so the other didn't get all too worked up. “we just wanna talk about the town.”

 “Then fucking talk to a tour guide or somethin',” the stranger snapped. “cause you ain't getting anythin' out of me. I really liked that door.”

 “No one gives a shit about the door!” the pair yelled simultaneously and this, for some reason, earned a snicker from the man. It was Ryan who continued. “We just wanna talk about the thing that happened to the city. The reason it's a ghost town.”

 The man put his hands on his hips. “Well, don't ask me. I don't know a damn thing about that. One minute, I was flimin' out a commercial out in Green Park, and next thing I know, I'm passed out in the grass like a damn idiot! That's annoying, you know. And bad for business.”

 Michael took the story in, connecting the paces himself. “So, you were there when the gas showed up.”

 “I'd say it was more of a fog...”

 “Answer the damn question!”

 “Yes! I was. I breathed it in, I guess, and then all of a sudden...” His voice trailed off, as though he was debating whether or not to say anything. Instead of finishing his thought, he then asked, “Were you two in the fog as well?” Simutaniously, they nodded. The man seemed interested by this, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Then did you guys experience anythin'... weird?”

 “Like, superpowers?” Ryan questioned, amusement on the edge of his voice. Michael was also smirking because this seemed to be too much of a coincidence now. The gas and the powers had to have been linked. “So, what's yours?”

 “Wait, wait,” the man said quickly, raising his hands. “I don't even know your names yet.”

 “Michael.”

 “Ryan.”

 “I'm Gavin.”

 Just like that, introductions were out of the way.

 And, like the grown men they were, they began to play with their powers like children with new toys. 

...

 Gavin's ability, as he put it, was “the same as his camera.”

 “I work with a Phanton Flex,” he said, showing them the unfortunately broken camera (to which he was still apparently depressed about, despite it being three weeks since). “I do commercials and stuff. I guess since I was workin' with it when the fog came, I got it's, well, powers.”

 “It's a gas, Gavin,” Michael mumbled. “Call it what it is.”

 “It looked like a fog! That's why I didn't run when I saw it.”

 “It was green!”

 “I thought it was the grass or somethin'!”

 “Are you a fucking idiot!?”

 And then Ryan yelled, “Fucking shut up!” and they did. He ran both his hands through his hair and flared his nostrils. “I swear to God, if you two don't shut up, I'm going to have to murder you both in cold blood.”

 “That's a creepy way to put it, Ryan,” said Gavin.

 Michael was left speechless as Ryan just glared at Gavin, who immediately shut up.

 The new day, after they slept over at Gavin's house and after screwing around with their powers too long, had entirely consisted of the three tossing back and forth between arguing and being excited over their superpowers. Michael wasn't sure if he hated Gavin or not. Sometimes, he had made up his mind that Gavin was probably the worst person on Earth and other times he thought the Slow Mo Asshole wasn't such a bad guy.

 But he really was. He really, really was. Because despite them all playing with their powers equally, Gavin had to be a dick sometimes and play pranks on the two of them from time to time, trying to get Michael and Ryan to fight or just being a general nuisance. But sometimes, Gavin would say something funny or actually be helpful, or have a good (but very stupid) idea or make stupid bets or--

 The only thing they had in common was their powers. It was the only thing appealing about Gavin. At least Ryan made good, understandable conversation. Gavin was all about hypothetically stupid scenarios and “for a million dollars, would you...?” questions (which all involved sex or something along the lines to some degree).

 Ryan, for some reason, like to indulge Gavin in these things and debate with him over some stupid, hypothetical scenario while Michael sipped on a Redbull between them.

 At least Gavin made a conscious effort of not too piss Michael off too much because the powerhouse did have the power to drop his house on him if Michael so chose to (but he was not a murderer and thus avoided doing so).

 However, when night fell on the second day, so did chaos.

 “Haven't ya ever had Wheatabix?”

 “No, Gavin! I haven't had your stupid British cereal, okay!? This is _America._ We eat American food.”

 Apparently, there seemed to have been a large gap between what the British ate and what Americans had available and Michael and Gavin were arguing about that now. Ryan threw in his two cents here and there. And then, “Halt!”

 The three men quit bickering instantly. Michael winced as a flashlight blinded him, bringing up an arm to protect himself. Ryan took to squinting while Gavin made a whole deal out of it, squawking and flailing his arms about in response to the light.

 “Identity yourselves,” snapped the owner of the flashlight, who was unseen to them.

 Michael had a good feeling that there were more people around them. “Just passing through,” he answered. “The place is a ghost town.”

 The glowing orb seemed to remain in the air for a while, considering his words. “You're going to have to come with us,” the owner said finally. “We have a few questions to ask you.”

 Before the trio could reply, there was a loud yell and a crash somewhere behind the flashlight. The owner turned away, allowing Michael to finally see what was going on. There was a second CIA agent and a normal-looking man on the ground. A light above caught Michael's attention; a flashlight spinning in the air, seeming to hang their for a moment before dropping from the sky and hitting the original owner on the head.

 When the new casual man tripped, he brought the second CIA agent down with him. The flashlight he held flew up into the air, spun, then dropped down on the interrogator, knocking him out. Absolutely stupid luck if Michael had ever seen it before.

 “That was top!” Gavin cheered.

 The casual man and the second agent began to lean up but Michael wasted no time kicking the agent gently but hard enough to knock him out. The casual man stood then looked at the unconscious interrogator on the ground, grinning. “Dude, did you see that!? That was sweet. Please tell me someone saw that.”

 “It was cool,” Michael admitted, standing beside the newcomer who he concluded was not a threat. “Some crazy luck you've got.”

 “You haven't seen the half of it,” the man said, then held out a hand. “Ray.”

 Michael stood stupidly for a moment before realizing what the other was asking. “Oh! Oh, Michael.” He took the other's hand and shook it once.

 “I know we all wanna do the chat-and-get-to-know-each-other thing, but,” Ryan gestured to the CIA agents on the ground. “I think we have a problem.”

 “Listen,” Ray began, lifting his hands defensively. “I've gotta be honest with you. I don't have a damn clue what's going on.”

 “That makes four of us,” Michael scoffed and he looked around in search of anymore flashlights moving on their own. He spotted two behind them but it appeared they hadn't seen them yet. Ryan quickly reached out a hand to absorb the light of the flashlights on the ground.

 Ray jumped and his eyes followed the dark matter as it retracted back into Ryan's hand. “Whoa, what the fuck? That's new.”

 “Get used to it,” Ryan said, looking to the other sternly.

 “Alright,” was Ray's still confused reply.

 Gavin suddenly lurched forward and put his hand on Ray's shoulder. “Don't worry, mate. We got superpowers.”

 “Please don't touch me,” was all Ray apparently had to say.

 “Guys,” Michael interjected quietly. “We've gotta get a move on, before the rest of those US idiots come looking for their friends.”

 Silently, they all agreed then started down the street without a sound.

 


	3. Danger Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. With school and stuff, I've been busy. Regardless, here's the next chapter.

 Ryan would absorb the light of their flashlights and Michael could send them flying with a good kick. Gavin ran scout, slowing time and running up ahead to check for anyone that could be around the corner. Ray just stood idiotically, waiting for orders. With Ryan's shadow manipulation, they were able to move undetected for the most part.

 They moved from the west side of town to the south. It seemed the agents had been alerted of their prescense because they were moving strategically. On more than one occasion, they found themselves cornered so they would duck into alleyways.

 Currently, they sat in the middle of what felt like a maze. But any direction lead back out to the streets if they walked long enough. For now, they just needed some cover. The night made for good cover but come day, they would be discovered in due time. Their powers could only get them so far.

 “Are you sure you can't just block out the sun or something, Ryan?” the newest recruit asked, looking up from the drawing in between his feet. For some reason, they all thought drawing in the dirt would be a good distraction, mainly because they were lacking for anything.

 “All natural sunblock,” Micheal added unhelpfully.

 Ryan looked up at the sky and frowned. “I dunno. That's a lot to cover.”

 “The sky is bigger than the ground,” was the wonderful wisdom Gavin felt was necessary to include and everyone snickered, repeating to themselves what he had just said very quietly to themselves.

 “The sky is bigger than the fucking ground.”

 “What? It is.”

 The sharp orders of harsh voices were barked loud enough to indicate the agents were close and the group immediately hushed, exchanging all looks and straining their ears for any indication that the agents were approaching. Once, they heard footsteps but they faded before they could communicate running.

 It wasn't long before the sun began to rise in the east. The security blanket of shadows was beginning to lift and they would be soon be exposed under the hard glare of the sun. Subconsciously, they all tried to melt into different walls with no avail. It wouldn't be long now before they would have to move in search of a better hiding spot.

 “I know some place we can go,” Ryan said suddenly, just as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. It was light enough to see the road before them but still dark enough that the shadows could cover them just a little more.

 They gathered at the mouth of one alley and, when they saw the coast was clear, they all jogged down the street towards where Michael recalled the college was. They tried to remain silent but they were in the open in the light. They would be spotted before long. They wouldn't be able to make it to the college before they were spotted.

 They just didn't have the luck.

 “Gavin,” Ryan commanded. “Go see what we got.”

 Instead of arguing, the male simply vanished from thin air for a moment, then blinked back like he had never left. However, he could only slow time, not stop it, and everyone was aware that he had been gone for the full step they took as he investigated what was before him. It was weird, watching Gavin move, because there were always echos of where he had been before. His movement wasn't fluid but instead appeared like many different pictures were being taken.

 Not like how Michael would have imagined someone who could move so quickly would move. But then again, Gavin said that his powers came from a camera. Then, maybe it only made sense.

 For Gavin, all he had to do was thinking about his camera, the frames per second that he would select on his camera. It was an odd way to think about it, but he could slow time up to 200x slower than regular time and anywhere in between that spectrum. Yet, he could never stop time even if it felt like that was what he did.

 The world was still moving incredibly slowly yet still so quickly despite this. He ran up ahead, looking around for anyone. He spotted two men who were looking directly at him. “Bullocks.” And, quickly he returned back to the others, appearing again. The two men shouted, most likely because they had caught Gavin's echoes. “Sorry. I hashed it.”

 “Hashbrown?” Ryan asked.

 “BrownMan?” Ray added unhelpfully.

 “Dammit, Gavin!” Michael snapped.

 And they were sprinting again, running forward towards the college in hopes of beating the men there. But, as they crossed the road towards the building, one of the men whipped out a gun and opened fire at the escapees.

 Aimed for Ray, the bullet nearly struck him and it would have, if he hadn't stumbled on a conveniently placed rock in his path. The bullet whipped passed him and scratched Michael along the arm instead. In the rush of adrenaline, he didn't really feel it but he still winced upon the snap of the bullet. “ _Fuck_ me!”

 “Run, run, run, run!” Gavin screeched repeatedly and everyone somehow found more speed (which was probably motivation when the guns came into play).

 Ryan burst open the door and waited until all the boy were inside campus before slamming it shut. Michael grabbed a metal pole that had been lying around by the garden area intended for the Environmental Studies students and used it to block the gate. Gavin was squawking unnecessarily in the background as he and Ray scrambled to the door of the college.

 While the agents had their guns and fired away at the super-powered men, they found difficulty in getting through the gate. The escapists hurried into the college and slammed the door shut behind them. Ray already had a chair ready to block the door. Gavin took it one step farther and dragged an entire table over. “Fucking really, dude?” Michael deadpanned.

 “Can't be too careful,” Gavin replied, pushing the table up against the door.

 Ray and Michael exchanged looks and Ryan just snorted. “C'mon, guys,” he began, starting down one of the college hallways.

 The hallways were white, now that Michael took in the actual details of the place. There was wood that complimented the architecture of the walls, glossed like a hardwood floor. Speaking of the floor, the tiles were a bland marble-like pattern that could be repeated on forever. Any carpet seen was a pale blue, and all the doors were wooden and smooth to the touch.

 It seemed like such a small college yet housed many of the greatest minds Foxton had ever seen. It was impressive, really.

 Finally, Ryan turned to a blue, plastic swing-door that was clearly meant only for teachers. He approached a steel-looking door, the three lads in tow behind him. He tried the knob but it wouldn't budge, only a clicking noise offered in returned. “Shit. It's locked,” he mumbled like the protagonist of every video game ever. “I thought it could be unlocked from this side.”

 “I really think this is the worst place to hide ever,” Ray added, trying the door himself for some reason. “They already know we're here. It would only be a matter of time before they found us.”

 “I know, but... ah...” Ryan sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He went silent, as though thinking. “I think there's a way out the back gate, if it isn't locked.”

 “Wow, we're fucked,” the lucky man said.

 Michael pounded one of his fists into the palm of the other hand. “It's not big deal. Gav can slow time, I can beat the shit out of them, and Ryan can... make their flashlights useless or something. Ray grab some pompoms from the gymnasium and be our cheerleader.”

 “Hell, yeah,” Ray said, somewhere between excited and sarcastic.

 “Gavin, go out and knock out as many guys as you can.”

 The Brit stopped, looking between the three of them as though waiting for a punchline. But, it never came. “...Wait, you can't be serious.”

 “Of course we're serious, Gavin,” Michael snapped. “What the hell else are we supposed to do? Sit here, jacking off till they find us? Great! We'll have a massive orgy with the guys trying to kill us! It'll be fucking awesome, Gavin! You'll love it, I'll love it, the guy who tried to shoot us will love it. It'll be the best, fucking, thing, _ever_!”

 A long, confused, awkward silence followed.

 “You need to calm down,” Ray mumbled quietly.

 Then, from down the hall, came a fifth voice. “As much as an orgy would be fun, I think I have a better idea.”

 The quartet all look to each other before turning to where the voice originated from; an average-looking guy with glasses and a black polo shirt. “Excuse me,” Michael said, almost apologetically. “but who the fuck are you?”

 “Burnie Burns, master of the power of suggestion.” He grinned like he knew something they didn't. Still, they didn't ask so he didn't tell. “Why don't you come with me? I know someplace you guys will be safe.” The men exchanged unsure glances before nodding. Without another word, Burnie motioned them down the hall. “We have to hurry before SWAT gets here or we'll never get out.”

 They hurried to a jog and Burnie led them to the back door of the college.

 Quietly, under the cold morning sun, they evaded the Government agents and disappeared down a dark alley.

...

 For a long time, they walked South, taking advantage of Gavin's scouting ability the best they could. Luck seemed to have been on their side and they ventured through the city undetected. Finally, Burnie lead the team to the unexplored Power Plant by the time noon struck.

 They trekked up the hill towards where the plant overlooked the city. They approached a gate locked with a padlock, but Burnie produced a key from his pocket and he turned it to open the top. They walked through the gate and Burnie locked it behind them.

 Finally, they made their way up to the front doors, made of steel, and entered the building. It was made entire of grey concrete with black and yellow stripes warning all those who enter to be careful. A bright yellow sign upon first entry insisted upon safety equipment before entering but Burnie didn't seem to care and just continued on in as if the sign didn't exist.

 “You only really need the equipment if you go into anywhere that, you know, has electricity in it,” he explained as they continued down the concrete grey and bright yellow halls, following what appeared to be the Washroom signs. “We don't really go in those rooms, anyway, so don't worry about it.”

 We? Michael wondered if there were more than just them – if there were others waiting to be discovered in Foxton. If he had explored the Power Plant sooner, would he have found Burnie and the others (whoever these others were)?

 Finally, Michael realized they were following the break room signs but only realized this the minute the entered the break room. “Oh,” he said aloud and Gavin seemed to nod in agreement as thought he had been thinking the same thing.

 Immediately upon entry, there was chaos. There was a man on fire, shaking his arm in an attempt to put it out. There was a man trying to fan the flames without touching them (and somehow making them worse) and another bearded man spouting water onto the on-fire man without any source. Off to the side, a woman was fallen over in laughter on the couch.

 Gavin squawked; Ray mumbled, “Oh, shit,” to himself; Ryan stared in confusion; Michael tried desperately not to burst into a fit of giggles.

 “Holy shit!” Burnie yelped, running over but the fire was out before he could get there. “Geoff! What the fuck, man!?”

 “I'm sorry!” the man who had been somehow making the fire worse yelled back, sounding not even close to apologetic. “It just happens!”

 “'It just happens,'” the bearded man sighed.

 “Well, could you not?” Burnie gasped, checking over the man who had been on fire for any injuries. “You okay, Gus?”

 “Do I look okay!?” Though the question, despite sarcasm, was easily answered. It appeared he had no burns (yet) but his sweater was charred, a black spot on the grey hoodie where the fire had been. “Dammit, Geoff.”

 “I'm sorry!”

 “No, you're not!”

 “You're right. I'm not.”

 The four men continued to argue among themselves, leaving the newcomers in a state of awkward confusion.

 “This is gonna be fun,” Michael chuckled. Behind him, Ryan silently nodded in agreement.

 


	4. Chapter Four

 They were still arguing five minutes later and it had grown increasingly boring by this point. The abandoned quartet decided to disperse around the room, taking seats or trying to kick food out from the vending machine. (It was Ray and Ryan who attempted the latter. Ray kicked the vending machine and out popped two bags of chips and a pop. “Jackpot!” he cheered, taking his winnings and walking away. Ryan also kicked the vending machine but nothing came out. He kicked it once, twice, thrice more but nothing came out. Defeated, he decided to try convincing Ray to spare him a chip or two.)

 Michael was immediately distracted by an air hockey table which was incredibly odd to have in a break room. Was it? Where he worked before had little things to play on when one wasn't working. He made a few friends then, but he supposed it was irrelevant now since they were gone.

 He didn't have any quarters on him to start up the hockey table so he turned to Ryan across the room, who was happily munching on a chip Ray gave him. “Hey, Ry. Care to start up the hockey table for me?”

 The male looked up and cocked an eyebrow. “I'm not a walking charging kit,” he replied through a mouthful of chip crumbs. “Just start it the old fashioned way.”

 “I'd do that, Ryan, if I _had any quarters_ ,” he snapped.

 “Don't worry, I got it!” The voice was behind him suddenly and Michael whipped around, startled by the sudden appearance of the red-head woman.

 He turned back to where he swore she was sitting before then back at her as she put a quarter into the lot. “...What the fuck?” he mumbled to himself as he watched her move to the other side of the table.

 “It's Lindsey, and you're welcome.” She grabbed one of the strikers and a puck, placing them both on the table in front of her. “Are you just going to stand there, or are we going to play?”

 Michael stared for a minute then chortled. “Duh. But just so you know, I happened to be the air hockey champion back in the day.”

 “That makes two of us,” Lindsay retorted and she hit the puck towards him.

 Michael, out of reflex, hit the puck back as hard as he could – which was probably the worst idea ever. It whipped through the air at breakneck speed and Lindsey vanished before it could slice through her head, leaving behind a smokey shadow of herself that dispersed into the air. It smashed into the wall far behind and practically disintegrated against it, the shards and dust falling to the marble tile.

 Lindsey reappeared two feet to the left of where she had been standing and whipped her head back at Michael, who looked almost as shocked as she did. “Uh, oops,” he mumbled. Needless to say, though, he had gathered everyone's attention (including the men who had been arguing before) so there was that plus side. Though, now the woman appeared much less impressed with him than before. “I... Sorry.”

 She sighed exasperatedly and put the striker back on the hockey table. “Good going, Hulk. You broke the last puck.” Michael scratched the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed but it wasn't like he was used to superhuman strength. But it wasn't like Ryan was destroying lights or Gav was randomly slowing time down. She walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. “Don't worry,” she assured him. “I still teleport myself to random places.”

 It didn't really make him feel any better but at least she was trying.

 “Okay, what the fuck?” said Geoff suddenly, pointing to Michael. “How many more of us is there going to be?”

 Burnie lifted his hands and walked a few paces out so he could see everyone and everyone could see him. “Listen, can we all calm down?” Everyone complied without a thought; even those were already calm relaxed further. “They are just like us. Superhumans. Everyone single one of us in this room have powers.”

 Ray raised his hand. “Uh, I have yet to discover anything,” he corrected. “My superpower is not getting superpowers from weird gasses.”

 “Sucks for you, Ray,” Gavin laughed, waving a chip at Ray (which the man realized was from his chip bag) before eating it.

 “Hey, that wasn't for you!” Ray snapped and Gavin just laughed again.

 Burnie put up his hands, but the bearded man, who's name turned out to be Jack, interrupted him. “You have to have a superpower of some kind.” Ray shook his head. “We all did.”

 “I... Well...” Despite his attempt at keeping a cool disposition, he seemed a little disappointed. Michael didn't blame him. “Oh, well. I can be the totally awesome super-cool guy that does things sometimes. I am a strong, independent man and I don't need no superpowers.”

 “Congrats,” Geoff replied sarcastically.

 Burnie ignored them and continued. “So, our little group is expanding. It's kind of hard to tell how many other people have been left behind in this city. I mean, it's kinda big. But these guys got lucky, because the US Government is here.” Suddenly, the room was restless in shock. Everyone shuffled uneasily before Burnie urged them to calm again. “Listen. We're probably going to have to ditch the city. There's no way we can stay here and not be discovered.”

 “But once we get out and go back to society,” Gus mused when Burnie paused for a breath for the moment. “there's no way they can tell we have powers, or were even in Foxton when the fog came.”

 “When the Thing happened,” Michael joked, glancing at Ryan who was smiling in return. Everyone ignored them.

 “Yeah, I know. So, let's grab Matt and get the hell outta here.” Everyone collectively agreed and stood to get going, except only Gus actually left the room (through a door no one really noticed). They waited until Gus returned with another man, assumably Matt, who looked rather disgruntled. “Matt, what's the matter?” Burnie began, making his way over. “Are you ready to go?”

 “No,” Matt sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Well, not yet. Read this.”

 He handed Burnie his phone and Burnie read over the article on the screen quietly to himself. Everyone waited for any indication of what he was reading but a long time passed and everyone grew bored of waiting. Then, Burnie handed back the phone. “Sounds bad,” he said.

 “What is it?” Gus asked hurriedly. “What was it about?”

 Burnie turned. “It's an article on the attack on Foxton. They're claiming it's a terrorist attack.” A long pause. “They want everyone who's been exposed to the radiation to report to the police and get examined.”

 “Whoa, whoa.” Michael took a step forward. “Those guys _shot_ at us.”

 “Maybe they thought we were terrorists,” Ray suggested.

 Ryan chortled. “No one shoots at civilians.”

 “Sometimes they do.”

 “But it wouldn't be the first time there's been Government conspiracies like this,” Lindsey added.

 Gus pressed his palm against the wall. “But why would the US Government attack it's own city?”

 “Oh, my God!” Burnie yelled suddenly. “Everyone shut up. We don't know whether or not we can trust them. So, until we get the whole story, we have to stay out of sight, out of mind. As long as they think no one was left behind in the gas, then we'll be fine. As long as no one knows that we were left behind.”

 There was a pause. Then, Ryan asked, “Does that include people we know? Like... colleagues?”

 “That would be ideal,” was the answer.

 Ryan hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Alright then.” He looked as though he wanted the issue to be dropped but everyone just continued to stare at them. He stared back then rolled his eyes. “Hey, just because we got stuck here alone doesn't mean there isn't someone out there is missing us.”

 Michael shifted his weight, putting his hands on his hips. “But who would  _ know _ you got left behind?”

 Another unnecessarily dramatic pause. Then, “My stupid colleague locked me in the basement. I think he knew I was in there.”

 “Wow, dude. That...” Ray was trying desperately to hide the chuckled in his voice. “...sucks.”

 “People, am I right?” Michael sighed.

 Burnie shifted his weight. “But that doesn't mean he knows you were caught in the gas. Or alive, even.” Ryan shrugged. “We'll just... have to hope for the best for you, then.” Again, Ryan shrugged.

 “How did you even get out of there?” Gus asked, squinting as though confused. He was promptly ignored by everyone.

 Burnie gestured towards the front door. “We'll go out the front and head, I think its's... South East.” He grabbed Matt's phone back again and opened the map app on his phone, locating the nearest town. “Yeah. We'll head to Austin. Nice big area. No one will question us there.” He handed the phone back to the still disgruntled Matt and lead the way out the power plant.

 Michael pulled out his keys, jiggling them and catching Gavin's attention. He shook them again and Burnie looked this time. “I've got keys to a car. I can drive, like... five people, including myself.”

 “I have a mini-van,” Jack added excitedly. “I could probably take the rest.”

 For the first time in forever, Gavin spoke up; “The place'll be on lock down. I doubt, what... nine people in two cars will be able to leave the city undetected.”

 “He's got a point,” Geoff said.

 “I am not walking there,” added Ray.

 Michael chuckled. “Neither am I.”

 Quickly, the group was divided. They loudly argued whether or not to take the cars, save for Burnie who stared over them all distasteful. “Can everyone just be quiet?” And, instantly, everyone quieted. “We'll check out the situation. If we can get the cars out, we'll take the cars. If it seems like we won't make it out without getting caught, we'll walk. Is everyone okay with that?”

 Everyone seemed to agree without a second thought, except for Matt who shook his head. “I don't want to take the cars.”

 “Oh, my God, Matt. Please agree with me just once.”

 “No.”

 Rolling his eyes, Burnie turned and walked out of the Power Plant anyway. The rest of the group followed and Matt found no choice but to comply.

 Burnie took cover behind some rocks, but it was redundant since there was now nine people behind him also trying to hide behind it. He ignored them and stared down at the rest of the city. By this time, there were lights set up all around the city, which was unusual since the sun was already high in the sky. Maybe they were markers of some kind.

 Michael stood, peering over in the direction of his home. There was a marker rather close and he gripped the keys tightly in his fist. “There's no way...”

 “My house is clear,” Jack said quickly, pointing towards the east end of town. “We have to hurry before they get there.”

 Lindsey snatched his keys from his hand and smirked. “Leave it to me,” she chirped. “I'll meet you guys outside of town, okay?” She tossed a street name over her shoulder and then she disappeared, leaving only a smokey echo in her place.

 Michael turned back towards where his own car was and thought about it. “I mean... if anyone else has a car around, I can pick it up or something.”

 “I have a Prius,” Ryan offered carefully and everyone looked slowly to him. He shrugged and Ray chortled. “I mean, how many people will fit in Jack's mini-van? Seven? Me and someone else can ride together in the Prius.”

 There was a long silence, then everyone looked at Michael. He sighed and gestured for Ryan to come with him. “Just take me to your house and I'll carry your stupid Prius out of the city.” For a moment, there was a glint of a grin that insinuated victory but Michael ignored it and continued down the path towards the city.

 


End file.
